Americans are the planet’s leading consumers of medications, a prime driver of our steadily rising and already astronomical medical costs. Expert concerns grow by the day that we’re pill crazy, and our excesses may be doing us more harm than good.

The Dai-lai Lama, of all people, thinks so, as he recounts in a story he tells in different versions. He says he often stays with wealthy American devotees who leave him alone for long stretches to ramble their mansions. But the self-described mischievous monk can’t help himself and sneaks into his hosts’ bathrooms, where curiosity compels him to peer into their medicine cabinets. There, he finds pill stashes—uppers, downers, and more. This saddens him, because he wonders why, amid such affluence and accomplishment, Americans suffer so much that they keep veritable pharmacies in their homes.

What’s your medicine chest or kitchen counter look like?